Over spring break, I spent the week with my sister and her family in South Carolina. Her and my brother-in-law have two beautiful nieces that I got to spend time playing with and going to do fun things. These little girls make me so happy to be an aunt, and continue to teach me so many things. After spending the week with them, I learned so many things and realized we can all learn a few lessons from children.
Smile at everyone. This doesn’t mean you have to go out of your way to smile in someone’s face, but you don’t always have to be walking with your head down or looking at your phone. When you pass people, don’t be so afraid just to smile. My nieces are so friendly and made so many people smile and in turn, smile at other people around them and giggle with the other people they were walking with. A simple smile can create a chain reaction. This may seem like such a simple gesture, but it generates so much happiness. Of course, this helps coming from an adorable six year-old and one year-old, but the thought is the same.
This leads to a bigger lesson: make new friends. After five minutes at a playground my nieces were playing with the few other kids that were there. They ran around and played games and had a great time bonding over the slides and monkey bars. My youngest niece is one, and even being much younger than the other children there she was included and they brought her down the slides and through the tunnels. After walking around the area, we ran into one of the families that was at the playground and the two children ran to each other for a hug. It would be so easy to become friends with the people around us if we just tried. Something as simple as small talk while waiting in line somewhere or being open to a conversation when you’re out somewhere.
Look for seashells and try to play with seagulls. The beach is relaxing enough with the crashing waves and sand between your toes, but it is so easy to take these things for granted. Walking along the beach with my nieces, they would stop and pick up pretty shells and show them to my sister and brother-in-law. They walk along the water and find shells that they bring back in their bucket. There are also very few things more entertaining than watching someone try to feed seagulls-from a distance. My niece pulled out bread to throw for them, and before you know it there was a swarm of seagulls hovering over us. It was like a scene from a horror movie with these birds surrounding us, but watching the girls run around trying to feed them and my sister ducking for cover to hide from them was worth the swarm.
Immerse yourself in a book. My niece does a great job at reading, and in first grade she has to read a new book every week. She read me a story about a little mouse that was stuck outside in the cold and watched through the windows at a cat and farmers that were warm and well fed in their cozy home. One day, the mouse notices that the cat has it’s paw stuck while the farmers are sleeping and goes in to rescue it. We both enjoyed the book, and this and everything else I did with my nieces for the week led me draw one final conclusion.
It’s most important to enjoy the little things in life. It doesn’t take much to find joy in everyday things if you look at everything with childlike joy. Whether it’s collecting seashells, looking at the stars, or finding something new you enjoy, there are little joys that can be found in every day. While it may seem like the big things control your happiness, it’s really the little things that provide the best foundation for a happy life.
